Welcome back to your Morning Buzz! We’ll be back at it, every morning, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers and the NFL from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a strong cup of coffee, or brew some English breakfast tea if that’s your thing, and sit back and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers.

We’ll start with our opponent previews, which wrap up today with Ryan Wood’s look at the Packers’ Week 15 opponent, the Carolina Panthers.

A year ago, the Carolina Panthers were on the cusp of entering a season in which they were considered premier Super Bowl contenders.

Behind 2015 league MVP Cam Newton, the Panthers were coming off an NFC championship and, perhaps even more impressive, 15-1 regular-season record. The Panthers won their first 14 games in 2015, flirting with perfection before breezing through the playoffs.

Then they fell one field goal shy of winning Super Bowl 50.

So there was good reason the Panthers were an NFC favorite before last season. Instead, they lost five of their first six games, falling out of the playoff race before the end of October, eventually finishing 6-10.

The Panthers will try to pick up the pieces this fall. Perhaps the biggest conundrum in the NFC, it’s hard to know what to expect from the Panthers in 2017. The Packers' trip to Carolina on Dec. 17 could carry major playoff implications for both teams – or it could be mere formality.

The Gunslinger played 20 seasons for four NFL teams, rewriting the NFL’s record books with his powerful—and risk-taking—right arm. His career began as a second-round draft pick for the Falcons, but it was after Packers GM Ron Wolf (who selected him in this all-time draft) sent a first-round pick to Atlanta in exchange for Favre that his legacy took hold: He won three straight league MVP awards from 1995 to ’97, went to 11 Pro Bowls and brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Titletown. Favre retired (for good) after the 2010 season, bound for Canton on the first ballot.